South Carolina is widely acknowledged to have one of the most beautiful state flags in the country. Created by Col. William Moultrie, the flag features a palmetto tree, which became a beloved icon of the state. But what about that crescent shape in the corner? Many people call it a moon but is it really? Historian Rodger Stroup says flag originated with Col. William Moultrie, who took the blue of his soldiers' coats and the crescent shape from their hats to fashion a signal to let the city of

Dawn Corley of Charleston began collecting silver as a child under the tutelage of her great aunt. As her collection grew, so did her expertise, until SCETV’s Beryl Dakers dubbed her the “Charleston Silver Lady,” a nickname which has stuck over the years. Corley has presented programs on silver for U.S. presidents, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and European royalty, as well as for clubs and organizations throughout the United States. In this story, the Charleston Silver Lady reminds us that using

The political firestorm surrounding the failed V-C Summer nuclear project intensified this week with the release of a private document containing the results of a critical audit of the management of the mammoth construction project. In 2014, Bechtel Corp., a global construction and engineering firm, … was hired by Columbia based South Carolina Electric and Gas and Santee Cooper to provide them an outside analysis of why the construction of two nuclear reactors was running so far behind schedule,

People who leave their shoes on the porch to air out would do well to shake and inspect them before putting them back on, especially if left out overnight. According to naturalists Rudy Mancke and Chick Gaddy, black widow spiders love to shelter there. And even in the driest closets, attics or basements, brown recluses may lurk. These are potentially deadly spiders that have rightly earned fearsome reputations. The brown recluse’s bite causes necrosis, which is literally rotting a hole in the

In 2014, the streets of Charleston were flooded on 11 days. It increased to 38 days in 2015, and in 2016, it was 50 days. The city is taking the threat of sea level rise seriously, says Chief Resilience Officer Mark Wilbert. More than $200 million has been spent on infrastructure, Wilbert says, and the city is planning a vulnerability analysis, which is needed because the tides already have risen a foot over the past century. The increased flooding is easy for Cathryn Zommer to observe. When it

The first 72 hours after a disaster are critical. The Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) website reminds that electricity, gas, water and telephones may not be working and that public safety services such as police and fire departments may not be able to reach you immediately during a serious crisis. The agency recommends individuals should be prepared to be self-sufficient ( able to live without running water, electricity and/or gas, and telephones ) for at least three days

The Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown, South Carolina is a rare place. Situated between the Winyah Bay estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, the property contains both freshwater habitats and salt marshes, interspersed with loblolly and longleaf pine forests. The variable ecosystems that Hobcaw supports make it the ideal site for university research centers such as Clemson University’s Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science. A Baruch Institute research team led by Dr. Tom O’Halloran

Last spring, there were approximately 500 pelican nests on Crab Bank, a sandbar near Charleston’s Shem Creek where pelicans and other seabirds have safely bred for years. Erosion has gradually reduced the area of Crab Bank, but a storm and high tides in May combined to nearly obliterate the breeding ground. Now only about 45 pelican nests remain, with no nests left of the roughly 1000 terns that also nested on the bank. Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologists Janet Thibault and

During the 2015 floods, the Columbia Canal breached at the Congaree River. It took the National Guard and a team of engineers days to build a temporary dam and secure the city’s water supply . In the months that followed, the City of Columbia began considering how to rebuild the canal and make improvements , a process that is still ongoing. Multiple agencies are involved in the process of assessing what to do to repair the Columbia Canal, taking all factors into account, such as the canal’s

Many people distinguish themselves in the worlds of sports, entertainment, writing and other endeavors. Ed Currie of Fort Mill has distinguished himself in a much hotter manner: he holds the Guinness world record for the hottest pepper on earth, his self-developed Carolina Reaper. He grows many varieties of peppers for the food industry, but it’s the Reaper that makes some hot-sauce aficionados rethink how tough they are. In addition to setting people’s insides on fire, however, Currie says the